Portuguese police clear protest camps in Lisbon and Porto over housing crisis

Portuguese police cleared a protest camp of more than 50 tents on Lisbon's central Rossio square in the early hours of Sunday, using batons and dogs to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered against a planned housing law.

A smaller camp in Porto was also dismantled. The clearances came a day after nationwide demonstrations against a centre-right minority government proposal to speed up evictions and suspend rent controls for new contracts. The bill passed its first parliamentary reading with the abstention of the far-right Chega party.

Portugal has faced a severe housing crisis: property prices have more than doubled since 2017 and rents on new contracts have risen by almost as much, hitting young people particularly hard.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro ruled out withdrawing the bill but said he was open to amendments before a final vote in the coming weeks. Socialist Party leader José Luís Carneiro called on the government to open talks with the opposition and with demonstrators.